This invention relates generally to tires and inner tubes and, more particularly, a puncture resistant line assembly for insertion into a tire which absorbs a puncture to the tire and prevents the tire from going flat.
A tire on an automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle may be punctured by running over a nail, bolt, screw, or other sharp object such that the tire loses air and, eventually, goes flat and the vehicle is immobilized until the tire is changed. The speed with which the tire loses air, of course, depends on the severity of the puncture and speed at which air is being lost from the interior space of the tire and so there is usually a judgment call by the driver if he can make it to a repair shop before the tire is flat and the vehicle is no longer drivable. Continuing to drive with a flat tire, of course, risks ruining the tire altogether.
Various products and patents have proposed solutions to the problem of getting a flat tire due to a puncture. Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, there is still a need for a more effective solution to the problems discussed above. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a puncture resistant liner that would resist or eliminate a tire from losing air and going flat as a result of being punctured. Further, it would be desirable to have a puncture resistant liner having protective layers adjacent a tread surface and side walls of a tire. In addition, would be desirable to have a puncture resistant liner having a plurality of air pockets for receiving a puncture so that the main reservoir of a tire is not released by a puncture.